Under The Light of a Thousand Stars
by Guard24
Summary: Emma and Killian go stargazing on the Jolly.


**A/N: The title was supposed to be Under The Light of a Thousand Stars (Place Your Head on My Beating Heart) but apparently that's too many characters for this website and I find this very frustrating. I got a prompt on Tumblr** **and was inspired by a recent on and off again Chuck rewatch** **.**

She had received a text around three telling her to meet Killian at the Jolly in four hours for a "bloody proper date". Emma rolled her ey

es, smiling as she typed out her reply. She remained giddy for the rest of the day, silently pursing her lips and to suppress a grin and checking her phone for the time hourly. When she arrived at the docks, the sight before her left her breathless: blankets and food spread out around a small table, lit by candlelight that illuminated the rose in his hand. "I hope you're hungry."

"Starved." They ate while exchanging stories of their week, of a restless Neal and gossiping Granny, tipsy dwarves causing turmoil at The Rabbit Hole, talking until dusk had fully set in and they cuddled next to each other in layers of blankets.

Twinkling lights litter the sky, the waves lightly crashing against the side of the ship a serene lullaby that lulled her deeper into his arms. "It's beautiful," she whispered, laying her head on his chest and listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat. His fingers twirled with the ends of her hair and she hums in contentment, her eyes fixated on the sky above.

"Do you see that constellation to the right?" He gestures with his hook. "I sought it out often during the missing year when rum would not suffice."

"What is it?"

"The Cygnus." He's louder, more articulate than he has been since they settled into the heap of aged blankets against the wood of the Jolly.

She swallowed, her heart fluttering against her chest as it does whenever he renders her speechless, subtly reminding her of how deeply he cares for her. She can see it too, the dotted outline of a swan. His heartbeat against her eardrum calms her nerves and she reaches for his rum, taking a sip before nuzzling back into him. "When I was little I'd go outside all the time and stare at the stars, how they never wavered and I could always count on them being there, even if they were covered by clouds. But as I got older, I just stopped looking. I haven't been stargazing in forever." Her mind is taken back to a time where she longed for the end of a day, when they sky reflected how she felt inside, dark with the embers of what once was bright and full of hope slowly dimming until they faded from existence. The stars were her hope until she gave up hoping. Now she looks at the same sky in a different light. It's an overwhelming peace, a steady, a link between fairytale and reality. It was a whispered promise of another tomorrow.

"Well love, I believe we are more alike than either of us realized. The stars are a great comfort to me as well. Always have been. They transcend realms," He kisses her head and she smiles, interlacing their fingers together. "They're a constant. A home." Her cheek grazes his neck as his fingers rub soothing circles into her hand. It sends a warmth flooding through her that the quilts can't produce. She tucks one leg underneath his, further tangling herself with him. He's a barricade from the growing cold, his arms bringing a security that she's sure the strongest of armor could not.

"You're my home, Killian." It's a phenomenon she's thought out before, the realization hitting her one morning after he had moved in. After they learned to coexist and accept the other's quirks bargaining for eating on the furniture in compliance for the socks to be kept out of the bedroom and kitchen. When she woke with limbs enwrapped together and his breath warm on her neck, his arm draped over her stomach and drawing her closer, leaving a haze of soft, lazy kisses behind him. Faint in a far off room, she could hear the automated laughter of the tv, Henry clanking dishes around. And she hadn't voiced it aloud until now, but in that moment she knew she was home. "You and Henry. Even my parents. When you brought me back from New York, you brought me back to Storybrooke, but it's the people who love me, that's home. You all are my home."

She can feel him smile into her hair. "Aye. And you are mine." There's a beat, a gust of wind rushing past them that makes her hair tickle his collarbone. "I love you, Emma."


End file.
